Topic: History

Art and Culture, Classical Liberalism, History, Philosophy

A “Flame of Fire” for Every Age: James Otis and the Writs of Assistance

– October 8, 2023

“Otis asserted that every man, merely natural, was an independent sovereign, subject to no law, but the law written on his heart, and revealed to him by his Maker in the constitution of his nature and the inspiration of his understanding and his conscience.”

Art and Culture, Authoritarianism, History, Philosophy

Are We Choosing “Living Truth” or “Dead Dogma”?

– October 6, 2023

“While the ranks of illiberal censors grow daily, John Stuart Mill’s impeccable logic reaches across time to refute arguments censors use to justify their authoritarian actions.” ~Barry Brownstein

Economic Education, Free Markets, History, Policy

Price Controls Don’t Fight Inflation: 40 Centuries of Evidence

– October 3, 2023

“Price controls do not stop inflation; they only make things worse. If prices are going up, it’s either because monetary policy is too loose or because the economy suffered a decline in productivity.”

Capitalism, Economic Education, History, Socialism

You’re No Einstein, Einstein

– October 2, 2023

“While he does seem to have intuited that socialism increased the dangers of authoritarian government, he doesn’t seem to have fully grasped that what he sought were two goals in fundamental tension.” ~James A. Hanley

Art and Culture, Authoritarianism, History, Policy

Reaching Across the Aisle for the Bill of Rights: Learning from a Political Odd Couple

– September 29, 2023

“If Americans want to expand and guarantee protections for free speech, they can gain inspiration from the contributions of Republican Alfred Landon and Socialist Norman Thomas.” ~David Beito

Economic History, History, Immigration, Policy

Is America Today Less Able Than In the Past to Economically “Absorb” Immigrants?

– September 29, 2023

“The contempt with which some native-born Americans today hold the people whom they fear would immigrate to the US under a more liberal regime differs not one iota from the contempt with which these same Americans’ immigrant ancestors were held by earlier generations.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux

Art and Culture, Capitalism, Economic Growth, History

Eyes, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes: Rebutting Robert Gordon’s ‘The Rise and Fall of American Growth’

– September 27, 2023

“We are wealthier now, not because we earn more but because we trade less of our time for goods. The real ‘superabundance’ comes not from ample money or wealth but ample leisure time.” ~David Gillette and Lauren Frazier

Books, Economic History, History, Philosophy

Nothing Was “Normal” on the Other Side of the Wall

– September 19, 2023

“Nothing was ‘normal’ about the totalitarian life in socialist GDR, if by ‘normal’ we mean pursuit of human happiness and fulfilment.” ~Robertas Bakula and Luis Carlos Araujo Quintero

Authoritarianism, Economic History, Government, History

Corporatism and Convict Leasing in the American South

– September 17, 2023

“This was not a product of capitalism, it was the direct consequence of government’s colluding with business to prevent a market for labor.” ~Marcus M. Witcher and Patrick Schmucker

Art and Culture, Education, History, Policy

Freedom of Choice in Education: the Origins of a Slogan

– September 16, 2023

“The Virginia Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, linked arms with segregationist attorney John S. Battle, Jr. to attack the tuition grants.” ~Phillip Magness

Books, Economic History, History, Policy

What Is the New Deal with the New Deal?

– August 29, 2023

“The tide of historiographical battle may finally turn and with it many old canards about the culpability of the gold standard, stock shorting, greed, and so forth in the downturn.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Art and Culture, History, Media, Unemployment

The Country Music Singer Who Took Aim at Welfare 50 Years Before Oliver Anthony—and Also Hit #1 on the Music Charts

– August 28, 2023

“In 1970, when Guy Drake wrote ‘Welfare Cadillac,’ one could argue that we hadn’t yet given welfare a chance. Today, there is no such excuse.” ~ Jon Miltimore